Michael Lawton, 35, walked away from his group home on Viereck Road Monday night. He was missing for nearly two nights before a passerby spotted him walking down Oak Grove Road around 7 a.m. Wednesday.

Introduced by Assemblywoman Pamela Rosen Lampitt (D-6 of Cherry Hill), the Gold Alert bill, which would provide information to the public for help finding missing individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities, passed the Assembly Human Services Committee in May. It is modeled on the Silver Alert system, which provides similar information for missing senior citizens.

"I am deeply thankful that this individual was found quickly and was safely returned to his living facility. Fortunately, this story had a happy ending, but in such situations, that is not always the case. That's why New Jersey needs the legislation I have proposed to create a 'Gold Alert' to assist the public and public safety officers in finding missing persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities," Lampitt said.

When Lawton was reported missing, the local police sent out a reverse 9-1-1 call to many residents throughout Gloucester County alerting them to the missing person situation, but there was no set way on how to proceed in such a case.

While authorities did launch an all-night search, including K-9 officers, thermal imaging cameras and New Jersey State Police helicopter, finding the missing man came down to a local resident being observant and reporting Lawton's location.

According to Woolwich Township Police Chief Russell Marino, a Gold Alert system would be one more resource for the police to use in these cases and would be beneficial to any search.

"I'm all for it. Any resource we can have to speed up finding these individuals," he said. "What if this was wintertime and Michael was out there for not just one night, but two nights? The more eyes and ears you have out there, the more you get it out to the public, the better."

Local Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D-3 of Paulsboro) agreed and said that in a case such as that of Lawton, a Gold Alert system could prevent more harm coming to an individual by alerting the public that there is someone in their neighborhood who is in need of help.

"It's a continued marriage of technology and the ability to communicate." he said. "I'm supportive of Lampitt's initiative. The apparatus is there for it. It's just another feature of the system. If you can place an Amber Alert or a Silver Alert, you can place a Gold Alert.